She was the wife of M. H. M. Ashraff, the deceased leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the National Unity Alliance.

[1] She was a representative of Ampara District for the United People's Freedom Alliance in the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

In the 2002 general elections, she became a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from Digamadulla,[2] and was appointed the Minister of Housing and Common Amenities.

Ashraff in 1981, facilitated for the entry of Ferial Ashraff into politics upon the death of her husband for a brief period of time,[5] which led to a power struggle for a new, charismatic leader from the East, a position that both Ferial Ashroff and the SLMC Deputy Leader at the time, Rauff Hakeem contested for.

Upon her failure, she broke away from the group and formulated the National Unity Alliance (NUA), a multiethnic political party that sought to center itself upon more than the Muslim Majority Identity.